Klawing It Back: Why Kawhi Makes the Raptors Contenders Again - SCORE MEDIA & GAMING INC

Kawhi Leonard may have left his hometown team in ruins, but he returns to Toronto as an absolute folk hero. So, how did we get here seven years after Leonard's Raptors departure? And is the claw poised to bring another championship north of the border? We've already dug into the Clippers disastrous side of things, so make sure you check out that video, subscribe to this channel, like and comment. While the Leonard-era Clippers rode an emotional rollercoaster of their own that ultimately ended in cap circumvention hell, the post-Leonard Raptors faded from relevance. The 2019-20 version of the team had a real shot to get back to the finals before the COVID shutdown sent teams to the Disney bubble, and it all went downhill after that. There was a displaced 2020-21 campaign in Tampa Bay, the departure of franchise icon Kyle Lowry, a brief postseason return in 2022, followed by a talent drain that saw Toronto lose or trade stars like Fred Van Vliet, OG Ananobi, and Pascal Siakam. In addition, the Raptors parted with championship head coach Nick Nurse and beloved team president Masai Ujiri. However, general manager Bobby Webster remained, as did franchise mainstays like Alex McKechnie, the health and performance guru credited for load managing Leonard during his triumphant 2018-19 campaign. With new franchise star Scottie Barnes emerging as a two-way force, the raptors began to rise from the ashes. Aided by the contributions of players acquired in the Ananobis and Siakams trade trees, recent draft picks, and the enthusiasm of new head coach Darko Rajakovic, Barnes had Toronto thinking playoffs again. Trading for all-star scorer Brandon Ingram was just the push the team needed, as the 2025-26 Raptors ended a four-year playoff drought by winning 46 games and claiming the Eastern Conference's fifth seed. A banged-up version of the squad even pushed the heavily-favored Cavaliers to Game 7 in a first-round series, despite the fact a heel injury limited Ingram's effectiveness and availability. During that series, Barnes became just the fourth player ever to average at least 24 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, a steal, and a block in a single postseason, minimum 7 games played. So you could understand Toronto's excitement about the future. It also helped from a team building perspective that Barnes was on a 25% max contract rather than a larger max and was under control through 2030. But there was a catch. To those truly paying attention, the path to contention was quite murky. The Raptors weren't a typical young team on the rise, as the franchise employed too many middling veterans on negative-value long-term contracts. That complicated financial picture left many to assume the Raptors wouldn't be able to acquire the type of superstar who could propel them back to contention. Despite last year's big step forward, Toronto was at risk of settling into the NBA's dreaded middle tier, thereby wasting the roster construction advantages of Barnes' contract. However, unbeknownst to all of us, a lifeline was about to present itself. Between trading James Harden and Evita Zubac, and dealing with the then-looming Capser Convention investigation, the Clippers appeared ready to turn the page on their failed Leonard experiment. Meanwhile, without the promise of another lucrative extension, Leonard was ready for a fresh start himself. But in his own words, the future Hall of Famer didn't want to wear a thousand different jerseys. That left former teams Toronto and San Antonio as his preferred landing spots. And with only a year remaining on his contract, Leonard held the cards. As teams understandably wanted some sort of assurance, he'd be there long term if they were going to trade significant assets for him. Even as fringe contenders like Minnesota and Detroit kicked the tires, and even with a marquee destination like Miami reportedly interested, Leonard made it known he would only sign an extension with the Raptors. It begs the question, how long was Leonard planning his eventual Raptors return? When the Clippers played in Toronto back in January, Leonard hosted a free basketball clinic for the Boys and Girls Club, telling those in attendance the city where his son was born was still in his heart. He also added the following message, which at the time just seemed to be about charity work, but in hindsight spoke volumes. the last thing, I'll be doing something else out here. Five months after that cryptic appearance, Leonard was traded back to the Raptors in exchange for Ingram, Grady Dick, who had fallen out of the team's rotation, two first round draft picks, a first round pick swap, and two second rounders. I didn't think I would be sitting here for a meeting today, you know, just speaking about, you just wanna get back to this city. You know, I got friends and family that live out here and just talk about how I could help the youth. Though the trade was put on hold until the league finalized its investigation, which amounted to devastation for the Clippers and a $700,000 slap on the wrist for Leonard, the transaction ultimately went through as planned, with Kawhi signing a two-year $115 million extension shortly after. Just like that, Leonard was back, ready to reclaim his throne as King of the North, even if the 15-year veteran acknowledged that the Raptors are now Barnes' team. What a difference seven years make. Leonard originally spurned a championship team for the sunny comforts of home and impermissible benefits, only to depart Los Angeles a villain while returning to the Raptors as a savior who now views Toronto as home. Clearly, distance, time, and scandal make the heart grow fonder. In a stark contrast to the disgruntled and seemingly uncomfortable version of Leonard that landed in Canada in 2018, when Raptors fans had to parse through minimal content to get a sense of what Kawhi might be thinking, The two-time Finals MVP has been positively beaming in the content he and the team have shared this time around. Now, before we get to how Leonard can once again lead the Raptors to the top, we do have to acknowledge the obvious risk associated with trading for Leonard and paying him about $165 million over his age 35-37 season. He's averaged only 55.5 games per year since returning from a knee injury that wiped out his entire 2021-22 campaign. he hasn't appeared in a conference finals game since 2019, and federal prosecutors have reportedly opened a criminal investigation into the Clippers' cap circumventing dealings with him. But again, given where the Raptors were and how unlikely it seemed that they'd be able to acquire a player of Leonard's caliber, the trade was ultimately a no-brainer. In the end, Toronto landed Kawhi while ditching one of those aforementioned burdensome contracts and keeping five first rounders. Essentially, the Raptores turned one to two years of Ingram into two to three years of Leonard without trading any top prospects. What's been lost amid this seemingly endless trail of cap circumvention evidence and Leonard's equally long injury history is that he still got it. Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game on 62.9% true shooting last season while playing in 65 contests. He earned his seventh All-Star and All-NBA selections and was one of only eight players to receive MVP votes. By virtually every measure, Leonard remains a top 10 player and for an extended stretch in the middle of last season he looked like the league's very best. That's the kind of superstar Toronto's adding to a 46 win club that didn't lose any of its five most used players from that seven game series against Cleveland. With all due respect to Ingram who enjoyed a bounce back season and did help the Raptors address some of their offensive issues especially in the half court, Leonard just operates in another stratosphere. He's an even better mid-range scorer, a superior and more willing three-point shooter and a more efficient offensive player overall. Not to mention, Leonard remains a game-changing defender, even if he's no longer a perennial defensive player of the year candidate. And yet, he won't even be the best defensive player in Toronto's frontcourt, with Barnes and sophomore Colin Murray-Boyles both capable of carrying that torch for years to come. The trio's potential at that end of the floor should terrify the rest of the league, as what was already a top-five defense now upgrades from Ingram to Leonard. To give you an idea of how massive the upgrade is? Consider that Leonard finished fifth in basketball references value over replacement player metric last season, whereas Ingram finished 71st. Among the 279 players who logged at least 1,000 minutes, Leonard's on-off differential ranked fourth per cleaning the glass. Ingram's ranked 271st. The Raptors acquiring a player of Leonard's caliber without trading youngsters like Murray Boyles, Jacoby Walter, Jamal Shedd, and recent draft pick Alan Graves was worth the draft capital and the cost of Leonard's extension. Even the high-priced veterans look like better fits with Leonard in the fold. R.J. Barrett, who's extension eligible himself, will be a crucial off-ball player, transition threat, and release valve for Leonard and Barnes, while Barrett's defensive shortcomings will be better masked. Starting point guard Emmanuel Quigley, a quietly solid two-way player last season, can now act as a caretaker and shooter rather than needing to justify his contract with a larger role. Quickly's job should get easier, especially if Barnes can touch the heights he did last spring as a point forward. The $104 million still owed to center Jakob Pertl, who was slowed by back issues last season, remains a problem. But the Raptors no longer have to worry about that contract, impeding their ability to pair Barnes with another star. They've landed that big fish, and they're still deep enough to survive regular season stretches without Leonard. An improved Eastern Conference threatened to leave the Rapters behind. Instead, Leonard provides a path to the kind of genuine contention this core otherwise didn't look capable of. It's a stunning turnaround, and one that should further cement Leonard's legacy north of the border. The prodigal son has returned, and much like the last time Toronto acquired him, Leonard looks like the perfect fit, at just the right time, to push the Raptors over the top. We'll be right back.